“Apple has yet to reveal the reason it is pulling protective products from its shelves. A popular speculation is that Apple wants to promote the idea that its product’s screens are sturdy enough that they don’t need to be protected (even though anyone who’s ever dropped an iPhone knows this is far from the case),” Jacobsson reports. “That’s no explanation for why Apple is also banning antiglare, mirrored, and privacy film, unless they also hope to promote the idea that their screens are easy to read in the sun, can double as mirrors, and have magical privacy properties.”
Jacobsson reports, “Another speculation is that the products, while popular, are hard to apply and thus have a higher rate of return than other products.”
Apple’s “latest iPhone and iPod Touch screens are surprisingly resistant to, well, everything — from finger oil to water to barbecue sauce, and don’t scratch very easily. Even my iPhone 3G (without the [3GS’s] ‘oleophobic’ screen) is pretty resistant to scratches… Macworld points out that it’s probably no coincidence that Apple is pulling screen protectors right before the introduction of the iPad — but why? Could Apple be thinking of debuting its very own line of (OLEOPHOBIC) screen protectors?”
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
I dunno. What’s the answer? I like a pop quiz, buy really!
First?
the answer is very simple
they are relatively low cost items and apple does not want to be in the business of selling a lot of third party items that are very low cost
the overhead to manage the sales and inventory and ordering of these items is not worth the very tiny markup that apple has on these items
no mystery here
case closed
apple also wants to encourage, not hinder, the sale of all this tiny stuff by other stores
by dropping these items, they are no longer competing with other stores for accessories
best buy might have complained for example that they were not getting enough accessory sales to justify carrying the mac lineup
case closed
Whateva man, ****!
Glad I have a protection screen on. Period.
Wasn’t this same article posted yesterday?
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/24412/
” (even though anyone who’s ever dropped an iPhone knows this is far from the case)”
I’ve never had a screen protector or case for my iPhone (purchased on first day they went on sale).
I’ve dropped it numerous times, none resulting in damage to the phone.
This, of course, does not prove anything. But the implication that all drops result in damage if this occurs sans screen protector is obviously not true.
Having a screen protector isn’t going to prevent the screen from breaking when you drop it. Seriously does anyone who writes articles actually think about if what they are writing makes any sense?
I’ve dropped my iphone a few times with a case but no screen protector. Not a scratch. I’m more worried about dropping my phone in the toilet while googling something and taking a leak.
@ploogman
your theory might hold true if Apple were also removing all iPod/iPhone cases as well. These are all relatively low cost/margin items, but most customers value the option to have these available in one location.
My guess is that Apple knows the answer and it’s the right move. Any other assumption is just that.
MR
Maybe upcoming OS or new models are ‘sensitive’ to these items.
It is safer if you use one, but it does sort of ruin the experience.
They can be a pain to put on, and are not re-usable if you make a mistake.
Things are certainly more enjoyable without them, until an accident happens.
I faced the same dilemma back in college. Despite the drawbacks, it’s not a bad idea to be prepared.
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There is a difference between prohibiting/banning and just not carrying the item anymore.
To all the loose wordsmiths (not) please make the distinction.
There is indeed a HUGE return rate of these to the Apple stores. This because when they don’t always apply properly, they then get damaged – They aren’t cheap and Apple accepts returns unconditionally for 14 days. Apple is losing money and time by carrying an item that is regularly returned because of mis applications. It makes all the sense in the world, what’s so hard to understand?
I agree with the idea that a lot of people are probably complaining/returning the products. I got one free what my iPod Touch case, and I tried multiple times to apply this thing. All it did was create tons of bubbles, look like crap, and leave goo all over the screen. If I had specifically purchased the protector, I would’ve wanted my money back.
Any one whom has broken their iPhone or iPod touch screen knows a screen film is not going to keep the glass from breaking if it lands on the edge or impacts just right. A screen film protection is a false sense of security. Most films also do not really project the glass from scratches with a few exception Zag uses a very tough film used to protect the leading edges of Helicopter and Prop blades from small nicks the film rips and tears preventing the damage, another company uses a film that is used for the protection of the plastic race car windshields from scratches, Race teams will apply up to 10 layers of the film and peel each layer off during a race pit stop to remove the dirt and scuff marks the layer of film as built up. This gives the driver a clear clean windscreen. Other then these two products screen films are just thin plastic sheets that do little to nothing for the glass. All the films are plagued with a fatal flaw too, they all use glues and/or resins that when peeled off the glass are likely to remove and chemical dip or spray coatings placed on the glass during manufacturing. As someone pointed out yesterday Apple most likely starting removing them because they were removing or damaging (when peeled off) the oleophobic coating that Apple is putting on the glass. It was likely done to remove Apple’s liability when these films are used removed and the oleophobic coating is stripped off the glass or rendered otherwise non functional. In my View I think Apple is looking at a bigger picture and acting proactively to keep it from getting sucked into a bunch of Nuisance suites over Films and the oleophobic coatings not working after these films are stripped off the glass.
@ breeze
thank you, finally someone with some sense!
@ marcus aurelius
they make no money on the cases either but at least the cases don’t keep getting returned – what’s your point?
selling bits of plastic sheeting is NOT what Apple wants to be bothered with, they are interested in limiting the items they carry so they can better focus
I am surprised they have been carrying them all along
another issue is pricepoint
there has been a rush to the bottom in terms of pricing of these protective sheets , some are super super cheap, apple does not want to carry crap like that which will make them a few cents and have to worry about inventory, shipping, etc.
good move apple
i use a protective film, but they don’t need to carry them in the store
also they do NOT want iphones to last forever, if you drop it and it breaks or gets scratched and you need a new one? KA-CHING for Apple
Dropped my original iPhone 3 times, twice onto concrete getting out of the car. The rest of the phone had a fair amount of damage, and each big drop dented a different corner of the case. However, after more than 1.5 years of use, there was only a minor scratch in the glass itself. I remember picking it up from being face down on the concrete with a fair amount of dread only to be happily surprised. I do know some other not so lucky folks who ended up with cracked glass, but a screen protector would not have helped.
It’s interesting to see people on here who say they would never go without protection. Personally, every person I know who has an unprotected iPhone has never had a problem with the glass scratching.
Probably a lawsuit waiting to happen:
my iPhone scratched when I threw it on the floor, even though Apple told that the plastic film they sold would protect it.
For my emotional damage and mental trauma I have from this I want $5437643675000000776567.98
… and he will get it
Don’t drop it in coffee. I did that. Destroyed the phone. Had to pay $300 to replace my $50 refurb. I don’t think a screen protector would have helped me.
My guess: 1) Apple can use the newly cleared shelf space for more profitable products. It’s all about profit per square footage. 2) Some film material may interfere with complex multi-touch motion, and lessen the user experience at Apple’s expense and reputation.
i think all those accessories make for a junky and clunky display. good riddance who needs em anyway.
never had a scratch on my ipod touch. at first i babied it now i just toss it in my bag and go!
Low margin items, cleared out to allow room for iPad accessories.
The adhesive probably screws up the oleophobic coating on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Even if the protector is just using static/molecular bonding, the interaction of the protector, the coating, and anything in between (i.e. dirt, oil, etc.) could be causing problems, which means warranty issues. That spells trouble with a capital $.
If Apple comes out and says something to that effect, they’ll have thousands of people demanding new, free glass for their devices, which they neither need nor deserve. I can already hear the whining.
There will probably be new, stronger language in the warranty stating that Apple is not responsible for the use of screen protectors on their devices.
This will probably be combined with a new marketing push for the “brand new” wonder-glass/coating for the latest series of i-devices which coincidentally should not be used with screen protectors. That way, it connects the issue to the new screens, not the existing devices.
Is this really that hard to deduce?
Don’t play unprotected, even if the game is better without it.
My guess,
My phone is sometimes unresponsive with a screen protector – maybe they are having significant returns on phones with protectors, can’t deny replacements when the protector was sold by them, and later finding that the returned phones were fine once the protectors were removed. Henceforth protectors are not supported – you can use them, but when your phone doesn’t work as expected, they will rip off the protector, bin it, and not give you another one even if that isn”t the problem.
I think the reason they discontinued the screens is because some screens actually prevented the iPhone’s touchscreen from working properly. One of my friends actually thought her iPhone was broken, because it wasn’t responding to all of her touches. We removed her adhesive screen cover, and everything was fine again.